Okay, Season 1 fans, okay! I heard you. This one’s for you. I admit, my love of all things Original tends to skew my attention toward Season 2…and heaven help you all when Season 3 rolls around if it’s as Original-centric as I’m hoping. That doesn’t mean, however, that I don’t love Season 1. Of course I love Season 1. That’s where it all began, after all! We had Damon dancing in the rafters, our first case of possession (Hi Emily Bennett!), and Lexi. You guys, Season 1 had real, live(ish) Lexi! I look back at Season 1 and sigh happily, thinking of those halcyon days when kids went to class and we were really focused on the tomb. It was so…peaceful. We’ve come a long way since then, but in honor of all you Season 1 fanatics out there, let’s take a pause and look back at the era of Tanner-baiting and emo hair.

10 Things That Were Better In TVD Season 1

10. Grades. People still went to class sometimes in Season 1. Heck, Jeremy was doing extra credit! If your focus is on these kids getting their diplomas, in Season 1, you still had hope.

9. Football. Because, you know, there was some. Am I too fixated on this football thing? I’m sorry. I’ll work on it, promise.

8. News Coverage. Logan Fell may have been a dick, but at least he tried to cover up the carnage with interesting stories like “drug deal gone bad”, instead of ignoring it in favor of the Historical Society’s High Tea. Snore! Aspiring reporters take note: Damon Salvatore is not good news for you. Avoid him completely or your journalist days are done!

7. The Odds Of Making It Unscathed Through A Town Event. Okay, so we haven’t had any events without some kind of violence, but in the first season you had a better shot of making it through the night without being involved. In Season 1, Vicky bought it on Halloween, Noah got staked at the 50s Dance and we all know what happened on Founders Day, but everyone else was pretty much okay. In Season 2, innocent bystanders started getting dragged in. Remember Carter from the carnival? How about Chad from 3rd period? The Masquerade Ball? Yeah. Hey Season 1? Carol Lockwood called…she really misses you.

6. The Outlook for the Gilberts. We thought things were tough for the Gilberts when we first met them in Season 1, but it turns out those were the good ol’ days for this family. Back then, Elena had two biological parents, one living, one undead, she had a brother (well, a cousin, but whatever) and an Aunt. By the time Season 2 was done with the Gilberts, all the parents were completely dead, the Aunt was first dead, then undead, then totally dead, and the younger brother/cousin had already died twice. If I were a Gilbert, I’d want to stay in Season 1 forever.

5. Dessert. Season 1 had cake, Season 2 had pie. Normally, this would be a tough call, but Mason Lockwood stuck his grubby paws INTO the pie, which is gross. Pass the cake, Caroline.

4. The Mystic Falls Drug Trade. Back in Season 1, Jeremy was smoking everything but his shoes and passing out stolen painkillers to Vicky. Even Tyler smoked a little and there were those charming (if ill-fated) “small-town lifers” in the cemetery. Then along came the second Season and all that lovely legal bourbon…so much for drugs in Mystic Falls!

3. Journal Entries. Stefan was never all that constant with his, but Elena wrote in her diary on screen in Season 1. Now Season 2 has come and gone and that journal sits forgotten behind the ugly statue of a mermaid, blank and sad and empty. Sorry, little green buddy! You’ve been replaced by a blog Elena can access with her cool new AT&T phone.

2. Screen Time For The Strictly Human. Humans are becoming a critically endangered species in Mystic Falls; can we get Ian Somerhalder on that, please? In Season 1, Matt, Caroline, Jeremy, Elena and Tyler were all regular old humans, or at least, we thought they were. Now Matt is the last man standing for humanity while everybody else has gone all supernatural. Poor Matt, no wonder you spend so much time at the Grill…it’s the only place you can interact with your own kind.
1. Damon Salvatore’s Life. Think about it: this poor guy came in all happy-go-lucky, thinking he would blow into town, torture his baby bro a little, rescue his girl and skedaddle. He was nomming on Caroline, dancing with Vicky, flirting with Elena, killing people whenever he felt like it and being juuuusst nice enough here and there to make us melt. Remember those Tri-Delts? Season 1 was sweet. Season 2? Not so much. He’s been spurned by Katherine, gotten a lot of witch-induced migraines, been shot, tortured, blown up in a coffee shop, had to stake his fang-buddy Rose, been bitten by a werewolf and now his little brother is all blood-drunk and running with the wrong crowd. While he did (finally!) score a kiss from Elena, being sweaty, gross and dying totally takes away sexy points. Plus, busted by Katherine?! Damn. Season 1 is shocked and appalled at your behavior, Season 2! It thinks you owe Damon an apology and some half-naked dancing time, STAT.

Ha! Nice post. I pretty much forgot how much I loved season one (I think the presence of Katherine and, of course, Elijah in S2 made me forget all about season one’s awesomeness). Half-naked dancing Damon?! Heck yes!